Andrew Mansioun
in 2009 by John Donaldson]] Andrew Mansioun, or Mentioun or Manschone, (d. 1579) was a French artist who worked at the court of James V, King of Scots. He was the master carpenter of the Scottish artillery for Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI of Scotland. Works Andrew is recorded carving decorative wood-work, engraving metal and making moulds for cast-iron decorations and gun-founding. He may have worked on the surviving 34 'Stirling Head' oak medallion portraits c.1540 at Stirling Castle with John Drummond of Milnab.G. Hay, 'Scottish Renaissance Architecture', in David Breeze, Studies in Scottish Antiquity presented to Stewart Cruden (Edinburgh, 1984), pp. 205, 207: John G. Dunbar, Scottish Royal Palaces (East Linton, 1999), p. 162: Michael Pearce, 'A French Furniture Maker and the 'Courtly Style' in Sixteenth-Century Scotland', Regional Furniture, XXXII (2018), pp. 129-30. His projects included; the fittings of the royal suite on the yacht Unicorn; an engraved brass for the tomb of David Beaton's parents at Markinch in 1541;Hannay, Robert Kerr, Rentale Sancti Andree (STS, 1913), pp. xxxviii, 125. and a carved lion and a Latin inscription for the tomb of James V in 1542. He made a cradle for Prince James, the short-lived son of James V and Mary of Guise,Thomas, Andrea, Princelie Majestie (Tuckwell, 2005), p. 78: Accounts Treasurer, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1907), 307. and a bed for Regent Arran. Andrew made moulds for use in the gun-foundry at Edinburgh Castle, for placing the royal arms and ciphers on cannon barrels, and also engraved ciphers and dates on the guns. He was appointed a gunner in the Scottish artillery on 3 August 1543 with a monthly salary of £3.Register Privy Seal of Scotland, vol.3 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 62 no. 428. The Stirling Heads, the portrait roundels made for the ceiling of the King's Presence chamber at Stirling Castle, were carved from oak grown in forests in Poland. They were originally painted and traces of blue-grey paint made with indigo which depicted the steel armour of some figures were identified by conservators. Some similar carvings, in stone, can be seen on the facades of Falkland Palace. The subjects depicted may relate to the ancestry of the Stewart kings, classical mythology, and Bible stories. For the restoration of the palace at Stirling in 2010, a new set of medallions were carved by John Donaldson, and they were painted by a team lead by John Nevin and Graciela Ainsworth.John G. Harrison, Rebirth of a Palace: The Royal Court at Stirling Castle (Historic Scotland, 2011), pp. 131-161. Andrew Mansioun also worked for Edinburgh town with an annual retainer of 10 marks. In 1554 he completed the quire stalls of St Giles Cathedral.Extracts from the Burgh Records of Edinburgh: 1528-1557 (1871). The gunner's expertise with ropes lifting cannon was also used by the town council. On 22 February 1555, Andrew and his two Flemish colleagues from the royal artillery met the town's master wrights to discuss how the new timberwork of Tolbooth belfy and steeple would be hauled into position. The following Monday the work began, and in the next week the framework of the belfy, called a "brandrauth" was raised by 28 men "by force at once."R. Adam, Edinburgh City Old Accounts, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1899), pp. 45-150. Later that year, Mansioun was based on the island of Inchkeith where he was in charge of horses and winches during the building of a fortress designed by Lorenzo Pomarelli for Mary of Guise.Michael Pearce, 'A French Furniture Maker and the 'Courtly Style' in Sixteenth-Century Scotland', Regional Furniture vol. XXXII (2018), pp. 129-30. On 28 December 1561, Mary, Queen of Scots made him 'Master Wrycht and Gunnare ordinare' for life.Beveridge & Donaldson, ed., Register of the Privy Seal vol. 5 part 1 (Edinburgh, 1957), p. 236 no. 942. For this, Andrew had a monthly salary of £8-6s-8d. In August 1579, on his death, the position was given to his son Francis.Murray, Athol M., ed., Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 13 (Edinburgh, 1978), p. 283. The Lord High Treasurer's accounts describe Andrew's work engraving the royal cannon in March 1542 in these words; Gevin to Andres Mensioun for graving of the Kingis grace armes with unicornis, thrissillis, and flour de lyces upoune the samin piece, and graving of the dait of yere upoune the mouth thairof, and upoun ..., sindry utheris pieces sett in task by Johnne Drummond to him, £13-6s-8d.Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol.8 (Edinburgh, 1908), p. 127. Four Scottish falconets with 'IRS' (Iacobus Rex Scotorum) royal ciphers were captured by the English at the battle of Solway Moss,Letters & Papers Henry VIII, vol.17 (1900), no.1143. and another was recovered from Castle Semple Loch and is now in the collection of Glasgow Museums.Glasgow Art Galleries and Museum (Accession no: 10-46) On the basis of the commission for Cardinal Beaton at Markinch, the historian David McRoberts raised the possibility that Mansioun was responsible for carved oak "Beaton panels" now in the National Museum of Scotland, which carry the Cardinal's heraldry.McRoberts David, & Holmes, S. M., ed., ''Lost Interiors: Rhind Lectures 1969-70 (Aquhorthies Press, 2012), pp. 73-77. Life and family Little is known of Andrew's origins, but the Scottish exchequer records consistently describe him as French. As one of the royal gunners, Andrew was hurt defending Edinburgh Castle from the English invasion of 1544 that opened the war of the Rough Wooing.The Late Expedition in Scotland, 1544 (London, 1544), reprinted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=kLiGTV0qzv8C&source=gbs_navlinks_s Tudor Tracts (London, 1903)]: Stevenson, Joseph ed., The History of Mary Stewart by Claude Nau, Edinburgh (1883), pp. 318, 338-9 One of his own cannon had backfired, and in June 1544 he was given 44 shillings to pay for treatment to his hand. Later, his salary or pension was increased to compensate him for his hand's lameness.Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1908), pp. 127, 143, 299. Andrew stayed in Edinburgh, where he had his own workshop (a buith), and the terms of his pension or retainer of 10 marks in 1544 mention his sons. He joined the Edinburgh incorporation of masons, wrights, glaziers, and painters. From September 1555 he was one of four master craftsmen who judged the assay pieces of tables or dressers made by carpenters who wanted to become free masters of the craft.Michael Pearce, 'A French Furniture Maker and the 'Courtly Style' in Sixteenth-Century Scotland', Regional Furniture vol. XXXII (2018), pp. 127-136, 132-4. Several descendants continued as carpenters (called wrights). Francis, who took his place at Edinburgh Castle in 1579, was probably the eldest son. Francis Mansioun was the official of the trade organisation in Edinburgh as 'Deacon of the Wrights' in 1595, and as such he was asked to comment on the repair of St Giles Cathedral. Francis made an oak pulpit for the Kirk of Falkland in August 1602.[https://archive.org/details/letterstokingjam00mait/page/82 Letters to King James the Sixth from the Queen, Prince Henry, Prince Charles (Edinburgh, 1835), pp. lxxxiii] Joshua and Isaac Mansioun, probably siblings, were also Deacons of the Wrights in Edinburgh.Extracts from the Records of the Burgh of Edinburgh, 1589-1603 (Oliver & Boyd: Edinburgh, 1927), p. 224. References External links * Historic Scotland TV advert from 2011 featuring "Monsieur Andre Manson" * * Historic Environment Scotland | Stirling Castle: A Glimpse of Magnificence * Craftsmen in the royal accounts: Research on James V's patronage of artist-makers Category:Court of James V of Scotland Category:Court of Mary, Queen of Scots Category:1579 deaths Category:British woodcarvers Category:Scottish soldiers Category:French artists Category:French expatriates in Scotland Category:Scottish military engineers Category:Year of birth unknown